Imagine, you have just released a new product, service, and you want the world to swoon over it. You have messaged, posted on social media, possibly even contacted some journalists. But nothing happens. Hundreds of other pitches to cover your story.
Because journalists and content creators are busy. They haven’t got time to sort through all the information you have around your brand. Otherwise, they will just skip to the next story. A media kit comes into the picture then.
A media kit (or press kit) is a central resource for your brand. Within it has everything someone needs to write about you: your story, visuals, stats, press coverage, and more. Rather than having to chase you for logos, bios or product images, they get it all in one neat place.
Think of it this way:
- Your media kit is basically your brand resume.
- The PR only talks about who you are, what you achieved and why people should give attention.
- It saves time for the media and gives you an image of professionalism.
It’s sort of like a resume for your brand, a compact package that tells journalists, bloggers and potential partners everything they need to know about you.
But that frankly misses the point: not all media kits are the same. Cluttered, incomplete or simply boring (when it comes to how a brand is perceived through it). We want you to skip that, so here are 7 must-have features every media kit should contain and a smart approach to constructing yours using tools like a press kit builder.
1. A Clear Brand Story
Your media kit needs character, and that comes down to your story. This is where you tell people who the hell you are, what your brand is about, and what the hell you exist for. Do not populate this section with boring dates or lengthy lists of accomplishments, share the why of your journey. The trick is to keep it simple and relatable to the type of story you might share with a friend or neighbor in passing conversation.
For example, rather than: “Founded in 2018, we now have 10,000 customers”,
Write: “We started our business because we were sick of seeing people living with bad décor, and today thousands of families use our products in their home regularly”.
This, in turn, makes you not just easier to remember, but also more human for journalists.
2. Your Visual Identity
Consistency is the name of the game in visual branding. If you look completely different from press to your site in logo, colors, and fonts, it creates confusion and dilutes your identity. Which is why your media kit should prominently feature the official visual elements of your brand, your logo in a few formats, your hex colour codes, your font choices, and some images that represent your style.
When those are laid out in order, anybody who is writing about you knows what to use. This means that your brand appears like this no matter where people see it, an article, a podcast banner, or a social media post, and they learn to recognize you in an instant.
3. Press Coverage and Mentions
Press mentions are a form of social proof. Getting mentioned by others, big or small newspapers, niche blogs or even podcasts help you build massive credibility for your brand instantaneously. So you can see why having a section for press coverage in a media kit is hugely beneficial.
Logos of places where you have been featured, articles of your work, screenshots of an article featuring your story, etc. Small features may not be major outlet coverage, but they matter. This helps you to convince new journalists to write about you by showing that others already found your story interesting.
4. Numbers that Speak for You
You are the summary of the ideas words can explain, and numbers will show you your impact. Incorporating vital stats into the media kit helps in making your brand reliable. It could be the count of customers you served, social followers, sales milestones or partnerships and awards. So, instead of “we have a lot of followers,” you can proudly state “we have over 50,000 followers on Instagram with a 6% engagement rate.”
Figures put your accomplishments into tangible context and allow journalists to immediately gauge your reach.
5. Case Studies and Success Stories
Statistics are good, stories are better and will stay with people longer. This is why case studies or success stories, kept nice and short, can be such strong additions to your media kit. Those are straightforward, once-in-a-lifetime illustrations of how a customer has benefited from your product or service. A good case study typically describes a problem, the solution you provided, and the outcome.
6. Press-Ready Assets
Deadline is a journalist’s constant companion and they hardly have time to come after you for logos, photos or anything else. This is why press-ready assets are so important to include in your media kit. These are premium files that are ready to go with your logo in different formats, professional photos of your team or founders, your product images, or even short videos or b-roll.
These are going to save you from a lot of replies, while fixing it makes certain your style always represents the specific way you want it to be. A little effort goes a long way in making the lives of journalists easier, and increases the possibility of your being featured.
7. Contact Information
Seems simple, but lack of clear contact information is one of the most commonly missed items. You could have poured your heart and soul into your media kit and compiled the perfect story that they cannot simply resist but all of this goes down the drain when the journalist cannot contact you.
Include the name of a specific person to contact (your PR manager for larger brands or you if running a smaller brand) in your kit as well as an email address, phone number, and links to your social channels. A lot of journalists work with deadlines and if they can contact you immediately, they would be impressed and your story becomes easier for them to publish.
Bonus: Keep It Updated
A media kit is not a set-it-and-forget-it type of deal. Make it sound fresh & new with updated stats, new press mentions, and current photos. Kits that are old can give your brand a non active look.
Build Smarter, Not Harder
If you are making it from scratch, creating a professional media kit can be an intimate process. It is at about this point that tools such as a press kit builder. Simply put, Pressdeck turns your media kit into something that takes less time to create and update, looks better and lets you focus on building your brand instead of building docs.
Pressdeck helps you:
- Attach high-end looking Templates ready to use.
- Use one ecosystem to upload and manage all your brand assets.
- Update your media kit in a couple of clicks.
- Distribute it in PDF form or a digital link.
Final Thoughts
Publicity is less about blasting out emails, and hoping someone will just happen upon your brand. It truly is about making yourself the most professional and available as possible and this is the exact purpose of a media kit.
Your kit should immediately communicate your story, visually illustrate it, provide proof of your credibility, and include your contact details when a journalist, influencer or potential partner visits. No email ping-pong, no lost files, no puzzling. Just clarity!
With these seven must-have features (brand story, visuals, press coverage, figures, case studies, press ready assets, and contact info), you are providing everything an individual needs to say yes to your brand.